70 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful artwork, and a very Pagan deck..., November 14, 2000
This review is from: The Robin Wood Tarot (Cards)
There are people who collect Tarot decks for the artwork, and people who only buy decks to use. I tend to do both, and have a colection of over 30 decks. The Robin Wood Tarot is one of the few in my collection that is both admired for its artwork, and in regular use as a reading deck.
This deck is overtly Pagan, and will probably not suit anyone who likes Christian imagery in their deck. All of the images are close enough to the "standard" of the Rider-Waite Tarot, to be read without difficulty for anyone familiar with that deck. This deck uses swords=air, wands=fire symbology.
The best book on tarot reading in general to go with the deck is "Tarot, Plain and Simple", which uses illustrations from this deck. Robin Wood's own book, "The Robin Wood Tarot, The Book" is a better choice for finding out the details behind why certain cards are depicted the way they are, and is very interesting reading in its own right, but is not as clear on basic divinatory meanings, or basic Tarot reading.
Some of the notable card imagery in this deck:
The Magician: The Magician is depicted as a Wiccan High Priest, wearing a crown of antlers, but still wearing the traditional red and white and with all the familiar symbology.
The High Priestess: Unquestionably a Wiccan priestess, with her Dianic crown and pentacle necklace, she is depicted in a familiar way, with much the same symbols as would be expected, but outdoors.
The Heirophant: Robin Wood's disatisfaction with organized religion shows clearly in this card (for more details, please read her book) and is unusually negatively aspected.
All of the minor arcana are fully illustrated, and very clear. Note to the modest, there is some realistically depicted nudity in this deck, although very tasteful.
No one deck will ever suit all people. The deck that speaks to you, may not speak to me and vice versa. I can only say that I have found it of use *to ME* as a good deck to read from, and hope you find it likewise.
If you like Robin Woods artwork, then this deck is worth collecting for the art alone, and I can also highly recomend going to her website, to see and buy more of her prints. She now offers machine embroidery patterns, as well as doing a great deal of work on computer graphics, and fonts, and sells disks of these ready to use.
Blessings and Peace
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37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Voice of an outsider here, April 24, 2001
This review is from: The Robin Wood Tarot (Cards)
As I do in all my reviews of tarot products, I'd like to first assure the reader that I am not what you would call a regular practicioner of the tarot. I collect and use the cards as a hobby, to provide perspective when I am facing a difficult decision, or simply to relax. When I first got involved in the tarot, it was shortly after I had finished reading the Illuminatus! trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, and I wanted to investigate some of the things discussed therein. Since Crowley had been mentioned several times in the writing, I gravitated towards the Thoth deck, and it very nearly scared me away from the hobby entirely. While I can now appreciate some of the symbolism of the art in that deck, it's certainly a little too intimidating for the beginner to pick up and try to learn. Fortunately, I didn't give up, and the next deck that I tried was the Robin Wood. I can't say enough good things about this deck. There are two reasons why there are so many tarot decks in print--the first is that there is a group of people who collect them, and that market is apparently substantial enough to support prices. The second reason, however, is that many people have a hard time finding a deck that "speaks" to them. This deck is that one for me, and, I think, for a lot of people. The imagery in this deck is clear and the illustrations are done exquisitely. Relating to this deck shouldn't be a challenge for anybody. If even a person like me, who is so put off by the overly pagan influence in the tarot, can relate to these cards, which confess to a certain degree of pagan influence, I think just about anybody should be able to find something for themselves in this deck. This is a wonderful pack to start with, and one that has enough maturity to stay with a person for their entire life. That's not to say that there aren't a couple of problems that might come up. For one thing, if you're thinking about reading for clients, you may want to avoid this deck for those more sensitive to nudity. While all are tastefully done, there is a pretty fair amount running about in the deck. The coloring on the images also does tend to lean a little in the positive direction, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. There have been a couple of objections by reviewers here regarding the more positive feel of these cards, in fact, but I don't think there's any real grounding in that objection. The traditionally negative cards still hold all the negative imagery and connotations--the three of swords is basically a redrawing of the original Rider-Waite design, and the ten of swords loses none of its threat either. Overall, there's really not much of a downside to this deck, from what I can tell. I can shuffle the cards easily, and they've held up well for me, both materially and in utility. This deck, in my opinion, is a must have for any novice reader of the tarot, and a welcome addition to any more advance user's collection.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful Tarot deck, but not for everyone, December 20, 1999
This review is from: The Robin Wood Tarot (Cards)
While I personally love the Robin Wood Tarot Deck and use it for my most personal and intimate readings, I can understand how some people don't like it. It is a very Pagan deck, containing ancient Pagan and Wiccan associations. It has no Egyptian or Christian or Medieval symbolism. Here is a short list of alternate Tarot decks that contain specific symbolism:
Medieval:Tarot de Marseilles
Christian:Rider-Waite or Universal Waite
Egyptian:Alestair Croweley Thoth Tarot Deck
Native American: Santa Fe Tarot
Blessed Be!
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